Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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OPERATIONS PREPARATION AND STRATEGY Making Palmer Proud Senior PGA players praise Laurel Valley’s ‘speedy’ greens By Barbara McCabe ABOVE: Laurel Valley’s 12 th fairway was wet, but <strong>work</strong>able Memorial Day weekend for the 2005 Senior PGA Tournament. Ahard rain pelted Laurel Valley Golf Club the weekend of the 2005 Senior PGA Tournament, sending superintendent Mark Hollick, CGCS, <strong>and</strong> his crew scurrying around the 7,107-yard layout to wick water off the greens. “We were using squeegees <strong>and</strong> water hogs to get rid of the water,” says Hollick, describing the rainstorm that drenched the Ligonier, Pa., course on Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend.“We tried to keep play moving, but it was coming down so fast, we couldn’t keep up with it.” When play resumed later in the day, the mostly Poa annua greens, which Hollick <strong>and</strong> his staff had honed to perfection in the weeks preceding the tournament, retained their speed in spite of the soaking. He received many compliments from professionals competing for the $2 million purse. “They raved about the greens,” recounts Hollick. Set in western Pennsylvania’s breathtaking Laurel Highl<strong>and</strong>s, Laurel Valley Golf Club spans 260 acres. The private golf club, nestled between the Laurel <strong>and</strong> Chestnut Ridges of the Allegheny Mountains, provides golf <strong>and</strong> entertainment for its corporate members. As home course to golf legend Arnold Palmer, who grew up in nearby Latrobe, the club has hosted a number of championship events in its 45-year history. Palmer, who has been affiliated with the club since its inception, continues to improve <strong>and</strong> modify the course to enhance its championship fervor. “I’ve had the honor of walking the course with Mr. Palmer — our touring pro,” says Hollick, a Ligonier native who lives with his family on the grounds of the golf club. “He’s been our pro on a permanent basis ever since the course was built. It’s great to talk shop with Mr. Palmer.” Preparing for the tournament Preparations for the 66 th Senior PGA Championship began more than a year earlier when Hollick, the superintendent for 15 years, began experimenting with plant growth regulators on the Poa putting surfaces. With the tournament scheduled for the end of May — the middle of seedhead sea<strong>son</strong> — Hollick wanted to get a h<strong>and</strong>le on seedhead control 14 Golf Advantage Winter 2006
well in advance of the tournament. The previous spring,he treated two-thirds of his greens with a tank mix of Proxy® <strong>and</strong> Primo MAXX plant growth regulators. The remaining third were treated with Embark plant growth regulator. To find out which rate <strong>work</strong>ed best, Hollick experimented with two rates of Proxy <strong>and</strong> a 1/8th oz. rate of Primo. Embark was applied at the rate of 3 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft. Two applications — one on April 19 <strong>and</strong> the other on May 12 — were made. A foliar treatment was included with each application. Two weeks after the first application, Hollick discovered that while seedhead control appeared to be similar on all the greens, the color looked better on the greens treated with the Proxy/Primo tank mix. Following the second application, he noticed longer control on the greens treated with the fiveounce rate of Proxy. “Proxy gave us a four- to six-week residual,” he notes. “The applications overlapped this time period, so no seedhead would be given an opportunity to appear. With the tournament coming up, that was important.” Trying for even better timing in 2005, Hollick treated all his greens on April 11 with the Proxy/Primo tank mix, utilizing the 5-oz. rate of Proxy <strong>and</strong> the 1/8 th -oz. rate of Primo. Four weeks later — or about four weeks prior to the tournament — Hollick made the second application. One week before the tournament, Hollick applied Primo alone at the rate of 1/8 th -oz. per 1,000 sq. ft.“We had already controlled the seedhead at that point,”he explains. “Now, we were looking to control growth.” Honing the putting surfaces Hollick believes it was this program that provided the players with championship putting surfaces in spite of the wet weather. “They couldn’t believe the greens were putting as well as they were as wet as they were,” he says.“I would have to say that had a lot to do with us spraying the seedhead with the Proxy/Primo tank mix. The rest of it was just routine mowing. The growth suppression I got from using growth regulators kept me from getting clipping yield, <strong>and</strong> we just continued to hone the putting surfaces. With every mowing, it got better <strong>and</strong> better. The honing smoothes everything up.” A letter the 52-year-old superintendent CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Scott Waltz, Bayer Golf sales representative for western Pennsylvnia, speaks with Mark Hollick on the 13 th tee. The Laurel Valley course was designed by Dick Wil<strong>son</strong>. Hollick <strong>and</strong> his trusty assistant on the 18 th hole. received from <strong>Mike</strong> Reid, who birdied the first playoff hole — the par 5 18 th — to win the Senior PGA Championship, is proof that Hollick’s formula is <strong>work</strong>ing.“I can’t say enough in praise of the terrific job you <strong>and</strong> your crew did the week of the PGA Senior,” wrote a grateful Reid after winning his first professional tournament in 15 years. “Wow! The greens were great. Even speedy after all the rain.” www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 15
Page 1 and 2: Bayer WINTER 2006 YOUR TOTAL RESOUR
Page 3 and 4: Bayer Golf Advantage Golf Advantage
Page 5 and 6: FAR & WIDE INDUSTRY NEWS Irrigation
Page 7 and 8: mold. Most of the New Jersey, Penns
Page 9 and 10: TALK BACK QUESTION OF THE MONTH We
Page 11 and 12: Greens Racer This superintendent’
Page 13: Down the track The Greenskeeper gra
Page 17 and 18: He typically overseeds perennial ry
Page 19 and 20: The first hole at ArborLinks, which
Page 21 and 22: MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES Gather R
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Page 25 and 26: the division a substantial amount o
Page 27 and 28: Alec responded well to the school
Page 29 and 30: old home course. Last year
Page 31 and 32: his ryegrass/Poa annua fairways <st
Page 33 and 34: SOLUTIONS PEST MANAGEMENT Pests We
Page 35 and 36: ON THE ROAD BAYER NEWS Sales Rep Fo

Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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